She loved him--but she heeded not--
Her heart had only room for pride:
All other feelings were forgot,
When she became another's bride.
As from a dream she then awoke,
To realize her lonely state,
And own it was the vow she broke
That made her drear and desolate!
She loved him--but the sland'rer came,
With words of hate that all believed;
A stain thus rested on his name--
But he was wronged and she deceived;
Ah! rash the act that gave her hand,
That drove her lover from her side--
Who hied him to a distant land,
Where, battling for a name, he died!
She loved him--and his memory now
Was treasured from the world apart:
The calm of thought was on her brow,
The seeds of death were in her heart.
For all the world that thing forlorn
I would not, could not be, and live--
That casket with its jewel gone,
A bride who has no heart to give!